Social media is a universal tool to share news and increase awareness on anything from glow-in-the-dark laces to the US elections. When it comes to reaching, connecting and interacting with the EU’s influencers, there are certain social media steps to follow that are especially helpful to Brussels bubblers.

Here are 10 basic steps to get you started and on your way to captivating an EU audience.

1) It’s all about content, relevance and timing

Discussing what’s going on now and where it’s happening is very important. Make your posts/tweets timely. Social media is about what’s happening right now.

I Hope #Guterres will be an effective #NextSG. Has the UN been a good instrument for peace and justice?

Stop going on about your holiday in Spain, or your new shoes, no one cares. Don’t just promote yourself. You can tell people what you’re up to. But social media is more about facts, figures and cat pictures. A good balance is 70% (or more) for your audience and 30% (or less) self-promotional.

Find an angle, understand your audience and put yourself in their virtual shoes.
Ask yourself the following question: who are you talking to? Remember that some content/topics/languages are not interesting for your (potential) EU audience.

We aren’t all experts in social media. But we all have access to simple tools that show what works and what doesn’t. Use them to see what writing style suits your audience and what hashtags work better than others.